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Food & Wine Country Travel

Holidays in Temecula Wine Country

The holiday rush just started, and it's already time to escape the mall madness! Thankfully, respite is just a hop, skip and jump away (actually, 50 miles north of San Diego and 90 miles south of Los Angeles). Just because you want need to escape the craziness doesn't mean you need to brush off the best of the holiday season: the sound of yule logs crackling in the fireplace, the woodsy smell of crisp evergreen trees, and… wine!

Start with a visit to the Temecula Creek Inn in Southern California's burgeoning wine country. The hotel offers a "Holiday Wine Country Getaway Package," which features breakfast and dinner at the restaurant, the Temet Grill, winery tours, and a gourmet picnic lunch (priced from $149 per person).

With the family? There will be a Teddy Bear Christmas Storybook Reading and Cookie Decorating Party on December 8, 15 and 22 in the Inn's Kiva Ballroom. The Temet Grill also offers Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day champagne brunch, and New Year's Eve specials.

Visit Temecula Creek Inn for more info.

Visit "Sideways" Wine Country without the Crowds

The movie "Sideways" brought mixed blessings not only to the folks and wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley, where the movie was set, but also to the people who visited.  Where there once was a peaceful getaway location to a lesser known California wine country, now there's lots of traffic and lots more people.

Los Angeles Times food writer Ann Herold writes about her experiences in Santa Ynez to find the road less traveled, and some smaller wineries that maybe are better than the Sanford's and Fess Parker's.  All in all, she uncovers a more peaceful way to enjoy your weekend trip and Pinot Noirs in "Sideways" wine country.

Read "Unsideways: The Tour | Secrets of the Santa Ynez Valley" via LA Times

Autumn California Wine Country Bike Tours

Fall weather is the perfect time to enjoy a bike tour of California's wine country.  Offered by Backroads, a 25 year old active travel company, enjoy a six day wine country tour that runs through Napa and Sonoma Valleys, through Healdsburg and Bodega Bay.

Wine Country Bike Tour  |  via Backroads.com

Winemaking and Golf Vacation Package - Perfection!

Combe two loves, golf and wine, into one weekend.  Golf professional and winemaker Kris Moe has managed to bring together a travel package that involves golfers and wine lovers in the process of both improving their golf and making wine.

The Golf and Winemaking A-Z school is a program designed for people willing to roll up their sleeves to improve their golf then get in the vineyard and do some picking and stomping of the grapes.

"It may seem like a silly analogy", says Moe, " but improving your golf game is a process much like winemaking, you work with what you got and with some blending here and there you should develop a game that is satisfying to you. As golf coaches we assist golfers on the blending of ideas or motion."

Visit Golf and Winemaking A to Z for details.

Prepare for Your Northern California Wine Country Trip

Looking to travel to Northern California wine country?  Spending a weekend in Healdsburg, Napa Valley, & Sonoma?  Two new books help you plan your wine country trip this coming fall.  Published by Chronicle Books, check out "The Wine Lover's Guide to the Wine Country: The Best of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino" and "Sonoma: The Ultimate Winery Guide" to prepare for your trip.

via LA Daily News

Alain Ducasse Visits the Culinary Institute of America

For the first time in the US, Alain Ducasse offers exclusive programs at The Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus!

"When my training center looked for an educational opportunity in the United States, it naturally appeared that the CIA was the only place sharing the same culinary quest of excellence." --Alain Ducasse

The renowned Alain Ducasse Training Center (ADF) has coupled with the CIA to host the "Alain Ducasse Contemporary Cuisine and Modern Presentation" workshop at the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus in St. Helena, CA.

Register for classes here:  November 9 Demonstration or the November 10 & 11 Hands On Courses

Planning a Culinary Vacation?

Gourmet on Tour is a unique travel company offering culinary travel vacations, cooking courses, and wine tours all over the world.  If you're planning a food and wine vacation, definitely give them a look.

Around the World with Cooking Schools

Billed as "The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Schools", join Travel and Leisure Magazine as they give you an international tour of cooking schools.  Plus see their list of top wine courses, professional culinary schools, hotel cooking programs, and more.

Visit Saigon with "thefoodsection.com"

Our fellow food blogger, The Food Section, is visiting Saigon this week and logging in with their experiences in Vietnam in their special Movable Feast column. Filled with great pictures of their street food experiences, read all about their first hand culinary experiences in Southeast Asia.

Heirloom Tomato Tasting at Windrose Farms, September 19

Daily Olive is planning to travel to Windrose Farm's Heirloom Tasting Fair in Paso Robles, California on September 19th. Windrose features over 60 heirloom tomato varieties, and we're looking forward to tasting more than our share. It'll also be great be a great opportunity to see their farm. Recently, we had a great heirloom tomato salad at Campanile who happens to purchase their tomatoes from Windrose.

Windrose Farms was also featured in the August issue of Food & Wine Magazine.

Maine Lobster Festival Coming Soon

The Maine Lobster Festival is fast approaching starting on August 4th through the 8th in Rockland, Maine. For more information on this classic festival in its 57th year, visit their website. Learn how the festival has now grown to cooking almost 10 tons of lobster during the festival.

Gourmet Travel Vacations

A great way to travel and enjoy the culture is taking trips to a certain region and experiencing the food and wine from the area. Check out these great culinary travel packages from Luxury Link.

Walking and Eating Tours in France and Italy

Love to eat? Love to travel? Walking adventure touring company, Classic Journeys, offers great getaways with three cooking and walking tours in Italy and France. You can take in the Tuscan countryside, go wine and olive oil tasting, and learn a few cooking techniques while on the Taste of Tuscany tour. Or treat yourself getting to know the Amalfi Coast in Amalfi, Al Buon Gusto! tour visiting Positano, the Isle of Capri and Pompeii. Or, if your tastes lean more toward France, the south of France to be more exact, then Cooking in Provence is perfect for you! Spend a week in an 18th century chateau while you take walking tours, visit the weekly markets and enjoy wine tasting tours...does it get any better than this?

14th Annual Bon Appetit Wine and Spirits Event - Los Angeles & Dallas

Bon Appetit hosts their 14th Annual Wine and Spirits Focus events in Los Angeles, on October 26, and Dallas, on November 30th. Experience the signature dishes from the top restaurants in each city, and taste over 125 wines, champagne, spirits and microbrews. Billed as "A Lifestyle Experience", these events will benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Visit the Official Focus Website for further details and ticket information.

The Biggest and Best Party in Texas

Save the Date!

March 31 to April 4

Saveur Magazine's 19th Annual Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival in Austin Texas.

This annual event takes over Austin and nearby Hill Country featuring a wine auction, wine tastings, seminars, cooking demonstrations, grilling competitions, and Sunday Food Fair. Visit with special guests from noted restaurants and wineries, including principals, chefs, winemakers and others. Headquarted at the Four Seasons Hotel on Town Lake, start making your plans now.

For more information, visit the Official Festival Website.